The three things every Broncos fan needs to know about the Carolina Panthers

Who are the Carolina Panthers? Where did they come from, and how did they get here?

Wasn’t it just last season that they somehow snuck into the playoffs at 7-8-1? How in the world did they make the leap to 17-1?

There’s a lot we don’t know about the Carolina Panthers. They truly did come out of nowhere, growing from a group few expected to make the playoffs to a team that should be 18-0.  But how they got here is a bit of a mystery. It’s not as if that much really changed in the last 12 months.

Cam Newton is still the quarterback, Ron Rivera is still the head coach and their coordinators are the same, too. Really, the most notable difference is that their star wideout, Kelvin Benjamin, hasn’t played a snap this season, though you’d think that be a negative, not a positive.

So let’s break things down a little more. Here are three things that every Denver Broncos fan needs to know about the Panthers heading into Super Bowl 50:

Carolina’s Strength Of Schedule:

I don’t care who you face, going 15-1 in the NFL is a heck of an accomplishment, but if we’re going to break things down, the Panthers had about as easy of a path as you can ask for.

According to Football Outsiders, not only did Carolina have the easiest schedule in the league this season, but they had the easiest schedule any team has faced in the last five years. The Panthers’ average opponent DVOA came out to -8.6 percent (again, the lowest in the last five years), which is essentially the equivalent of playing the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 16 games in a row.

Now, would it be difficult to go 15-1 against the Bucs? Sure, but it’s a whole lot easier than going 15-1 against the Minnesota Vikings, who equate to the average opponent for the Denver Broncos (4.1%).

Whereas the Broncos had to face off against the AFC and NFC North, the Panthers got to play against the AFC South and NFC East all season long, easily the two worst divisions in football; they got to play the rest of the NFC South twice, too.

Now, again, the Panthers can only play the schedule they’re handed, but I think it’s fair to say that they got off easy.

Cam Newton’s Strengths And Weaknesses

Not only is Cam Newton like no other quarterback we’ve ever seen, but he’s like no Cam Newton we’ve ever seen. This is not the same guy we’ve been watching for the last five years; in one offseason, he’s gone from inconsistent talent to unquestioned MVP.

Here are PFF’s grades for Newton over the last five years: 10.5 in ’11; 24.1 in ’12; 12.3 in ’13; 16.1 in ’14; and 42.1 in ’15.

Yes, according to PFF, Newton has been nearly twice as impactful as any other season in his career. So what’s he doing so well?

Obviously, the rushing ability is a huge factor, as he’s PFF’s top rushing quarterback (14.5), but that’s been the case since the day Newton stepped into the NFL. The real difference stems from his much-improved passing.

Cam has always had the talent to be one of the league’s best passers, but he’s been inconsistent, prone to air mailing a few balls a game. This season, though, he’s been money, especially when pushing the ball downfield.

With 71 attempts this season of more than 20 yards, Cam has been one of the most efficient deep passers in the NFL, completing 47.9 percent of those passes (fourth best in the NFL). And while those deep passes are a definite threat to the Broncos defense, they also leave Cam vulnerable, as his 2.61 seconds to attempt (per PFF) is sixth slowest in the NFL; that means Denver’s pass rush should have ample time to get to the big quarterback.

It will be tough, though. As any casual viewer could tell you, Cam Newton is tough to bring down, both because of his size and athleticism. Despite taking awhile to unload the ball, Cam was only sacked 33 times on the season (12th most in the NFL). That said, he was hit while throwing on 12 different occasions, second most in the NFL.

All of this is to say that the Broncos should have a very reasonable plan of attack: (a) Eliminate the threat of Cam’s rocket arm by forcing him to work in the short passing game, where he’s not nearly as effective (PFF has him graded as an average QB at best when passing within 10 yards of the line of scrimmage); or (b) if Cam and the Panthers do attempt to push the ball down field, much like in the AFC Championship game, the Broncos’ pass rush will have to make sure they hit Cam before those 2.61 seconds are up.

This piece brought to you in part by …

Von Miller Peyton Manning may be the most famous person on the Denver Broncos, but Von Miller is definitely the most popular, and it’s well deserved. Coming off what may have been the best performance of his career, Miller has been thrust into the national spotlight, and he loves it. He’s funny, he’s smart and he’s all about the Denver Broncos.  Part of what goes into deciding the Super Bowl MVP is simply how well everybody knows your name. And with the Denver Broncos defense being a main topic of discussion, everybody knows Von Miller’s name.  The only reason he’s not higher on this list is because Miller’s impact can go unnoticed at times. Offenses key on Von more than just about any other pass rusher in the league, and that means he’s not always going to put up the stats he put up in the AFC Championship game. Instead, he paves the way for guys like Malik Jackson and Derek Wolfe to clean up on the inside.  Plus, if Wade Phillips really wants to stop Cam Newton from scrambling, he’s going to have to get Miller and Ware to maintain containment, as opposed to crashing around the edge.  Nonetheless, even if the stats don’t reflect, Von Miller is probably the most important person to a Broncos victory. ” width=”400″ height=”525″ />

 

How Good Is The Carolina Defense? 

The Panthers defense is very good. They were sixth in the NFL in terms of both yards and points given up, and both PFF (sixth) and Football Outsiders (second) had them graded highly, too.

But they have holes.

First off, the secondary that dominated the NFL through the majority of the season is no longer what they once were. Aside from Josh Norman, two of the Panthers top three cornerbacks (Bene Benwikere and Charles Tillman) are out for the season, and they’re replacements (Cortland Finnegan and Robert McClain) have been far from great.

In all reality, Peyton Manning could probably go the whole game without targeting Josh Norman once and still be successful. The question, though, is whom Norman will cover. While the popular opinion has been that he’ll blanket Demaryius Thomas, I wouldn’t be surprised if Carolina tries to shut down Emmanuel Sanders with Norman, while putting Finnegan on Thomas with safety help over the top.

In either case, Manning should have a favorable matchup on nearly every play.

And in terms of the run defense, the fact that Thomas Davis is playing with a broken arm — which, what?! — is a pretty big deal. Luke Kuechly may be as good as they come, but Davis is integral to that Panthers defense, both in their pass defense and run defense.

I’ve got a hard time believing Davis will be the same, all-world defender he’s been these last few seasons, and if that’s the case, there should be a little extra room for C.J. Anderson to get to the next level.

As a whole, though, the Panthers do have a very good defense, as I said at the top, but they’re not great; they’re not as good as the Patriots defense the Broncos faced off against two weeks ago. If they can put up 20 on New England, they can do the same to Carolina. The trick will be making sure they don’t reach that mark, too.